Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.
TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyrightc 2003 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.
This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.
This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrightedc by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.
PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.
Tales from the Ranch Chapter 44: How to start the week
Bret Jenkins, Sr. arrived at his office a few minutes before 8 a.m. Amanda had just poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Morning, Bret. Would you like some coffee?"
"Good morning to you. Yes, I would," he said.
As she was pouring him coffee, he asked, "How was your weekend?"
That surprised Amanda. Bret usually ignored her unless he needed her help. Something was different today.
"I had a nice weekend. The rain kept us from doing much on Saturday, but yesterday was super," she said. "How about yours?"
"Well, it was interesting, to say the least," he said. "Has Morris come in yet?"
"No, but he didn't call that he'd be late, so he will probably be here soon," Amanda said.
"I need his guidance on some stuff for the Victory Temple. I hope he can help me with some decisions."
"I'll tell him when he comes in," Amanda said.
Bret went back to his office. Amanda wondered if that was the same Bret Jenkins that had been working there the last few months. He almost seemed normal.
About 10 minutes later, Morris stuck his head in the door of Bret's office. "Amanda said you needed to talk to me," he said.
"Morning, Morris. Yes, I do. Would you mind shutting the door?"
Morris wondered what was going on, but did so and then sat down in one of the chairs in front of Bret's desk.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Morris, I know you aren't an attorney, but I think I've uncovered a big mess at the church and we need to get someone to help us who is good and knows their way around government reporting for churches and the reports that have to be filed to keep them in compliance with corporate regulations."
"Can you tell me a little of what's going on?" Morris asked. He was most interested.
"Well, you know our financial status since you're on the board of the bank that has our notes?" Bret asked.
"Yes."
"Last Wednesday, Riley Boyd called me. It had never entered my mind to really look at the deposit slips that the secretary made up on Monday morning. However, Riley told me that he and his wife had put cash in the plate when it was passed and several others around them did also. The deposit ticket that was given to me didn't have any cash listed, it was all checks."
"Is the secretary stealing the money?" Morris asked.
"No, Jimmy Bob Jones."
"What? Don't you pay him well?"
"Yeah, $48,000 a year, plus retirement, insurance, house and utilities and a car."
"He shouldn't have any reason to steal then, with that compensation package.
"Well, he did. We searched his desk and found $56,000 in cash that he had stuffed in file folders in his desk drawer, some even had dates written on them."
"That's hard to believe.
"There's more. We went to the parsonage and found $41,000 in his bedroom and almost $18,000 in her bedroom. That's almost $115,000," Bret told him.
"That would certainly make a big impression with the bank on your loan status. You did put the money in the bank, didn't you?"
"Yes, it's secure. I was afraid they would question the fact that it was so much cash, but they didn't."
"They would if it was an individual, churches sometimes have a lot of cash to deposit for various reasons."
"We had a meeting on Wednesday night and again yesterday morning after church. A question came up about our corporate status and Jimmy Bob admitted to me that we hadn't been filing an annual corporate report and apparently not paying our annual corporate license fee, either. I don't know what kind of problems that will cause us."
"You'll have to go back and file the missing reports and pay the fees and a penalty. The only problem would be if someone else has filed to use your corporate name and it was granted. You would have to incorporate under a new name," Morris told him.
"That might not be too bad, then. It will be a matter of trying to put financial statements together for all the missing years. Can the Secretary of State's office tell me what's missing?" Bret asked.
"Yes, and they can provide copies of the ones they have. That probably is your best bet - to find out what they have, then construct the missing reports," Morris said.
"Is it just easier to go to their office?" Bret asked.
"Probably not. They aren't going to have time to research it while you stand and wait. It's better to call and find what you need, then let them research it and let you know what you need to do."
"Okay," Bret said.
"Let me ask you something. Why didn't you catch this before now? I mean, you are a good accountant and put these reports together for our clients," Morris asked.
"Jimmy Bob took care of everything. It was a year after I became treasurer before I found out what our liabilities were on the three notes. I seldom ever wrote a check, just more or less rubber-stamped what he did. I've set up an accounting system, but I'll never know for sure if it's accurate when it comes to assets and liabilities."
"I won't say anything because I understand what it must be like, but you have put yourself at risk, too, if you were a registered officer of that corporation. However, from what you've told me, there probably haven't been any reports filed listing you as such," Morris told him.
"Well, I think we need an attorney and you will understand why when I tell you the rest," Bret said.
"It surely couldn't get any worse than this?" Morris asked cautiously.
"Oh yeah. It can. I went to the jail yesterday because we needed answers as to our corporate status. Jimmy Bob was moaning about the fact that no one had come to see him, except your priest. He really seemed pleased that he had taken the time to visit and pray for him. He gave Jimmy Bob a prayer book, too.
Morris smiled at the idea of Jimmy Bob trying to read the Book of Common Prayer and it making any sense to him.
"I didn't mean to get off the subject. He asked if we had found the money and I told him yes. He didn't even have any idea as to how much he had. Then he dropped the bomb by telling me there was more money hidden at the parsonage. He said that nobody else knew about it except him and offered to give it to me because he wouldn't have any use for it in jail."
"And.?" Morris asked.
"You are not going to believe this. There were five big coffee cans with money rolled in bundles. A total of a half- million dollars!"
"What?!" Morris about dropped his jaw on the floor. "My God, what did you do with it?"
"I took it home. It's in the closet in our bedroom. I know it belongs in the bank, but I wanted to talk to you and I guess. an attorney about what I do next."
"Nobody else knows about this?" Morris was stunned.
"Beth does now. I told her about going to the jail to visit Jimmy Bob, then she saw the sacks. We opened one can, but I didn't count any of it. It appears to all be $50 and $100 bills in rolled bundles of $10,000 each."
"You are right. Your church does need an attorney. I suggest that I call Gus Douglas. He's probably the brightest attorney here in the city and he's honest. Let me go call him and see if he can see you today. I'll go with you if you want me to."
"Thanks Morris. I just don't have any idea of what to do."
Bret felt relieved.
Dale drove in the ranch driveway just as Jason and Kevin were arriving at the road. He stopped so they could visit for a minute. The boys were excited, as they had gone to Dallas for the weekend with their parents. Chris had gone to a planning meeting as her class had graduated from Baylor 1977. The 15th reunion was still a year and a half away, but the girls from that school had always planned lavish parties. This time they were talking about a 7-day cruise that would include husbands and children.
Jason and Kevin had stayed with their grandparents, the Lovell's who owned a huge road construction company that operated all over Texas and into the surrounding states. They hadn't seen their grandparents for several months and always looked forward to the neat things they planned and took them to do. Marty had divided his time between social activities that Chris and her friends took part in, seeing some of his old buddies and the family activities with Jason and Kevin.
It turned out that the boys had spent quite a bit of time on Saturday at Fair Park, so Dale told them that he and Craig had been there the month before.
They heard the bus coming up the road and around the curve, so that was the end of their conversation.
As Dale drove on up the driveway, he realized that the three men who worked for him were right behind his Blazer. They parked their vehicles in the usual spaces. Dale waited for them to reach the barn before going inside. He had empty containers for milk, cream and eggs to return for refills.
"Hi guys, how was your weekend?" Dale greeted them.
"Well, Saturday wasn't so great," Michael said, "because it was too wet from the night before, but yesterday was okay."
"I was lazy all weekend," John said. Actually Nolan spent the weekend with him and they were too tired to do much of anything else.
Pat told Dale, "My parents and I met up in San Antonio on Saturday afternoon and we stayed overnight. That was only the second time I'd been there, so we spent quite a bit of time on the Riverwalk downtown."
"I've only been there once. It is a beautiful town, but we were on a school trip and they kept us so busy we didn't have time to see anything except what they wanted us to see," Dale told them.
"Bummer," said Pat.
"Did you fellows have a chance to talk to Al at the Starlight to see what you have to do about giving notice?" Dale asked.
"Yeah, I did," Michael said. "Even though we pay by the month to get a 10% discount, he considers us weekly renters, so only expects that much notice. He did say that if we could tell him two weeks ahead of time he could probably have somebody lined up for our rooms."
"I think we can do that with no problem. I didn't get to talk to Ray on Friday, but I know he's to be here today, so I'll see if I can extract a date from him. He said two weeks ago that he would finish ahead of schedule, which is November 1st, but remember that it will take a couple of weeks to get furniture and other things needed for you to live here."
"That works for me," Michael said. "Can we arrange the rooms in any way we want?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Dale replied.
"Well, Pat and I are going to share a room like we do now at the Starlight. We wondered if we could put both beds in one side of the room and use the other side to put a couple of chairs and TV and other things we have that belong to either Pat or me?"
"I don't see a problem with that. As far as I'm concerned you can arrange it any way you want," Dale told them.
"And that brings up another point. We'll have contracts for you to sign the first of November and there will be some paperwork to fill out for insurance. There will be a clause in the contract that addresses housekeeping for the crew quarters. Fellows, it has to be kept clean. No maid service here," Dale emphasized.
"Not a problem to me," John said. "I can mop and dust with the best of them."
Michael and Pat agreed.
"Now, let's get to work. You can start plowing section 16 this morning. You can take the equipment through the pastures without having to go out on the highway. I'll bring the pickup to you in about a half hour and one of you can bring me back here," Dale said.
"I can do that," John told him."
"Good. Let's get your timesheets filled out and on your way."
They fixed their cooler and thermos bottles and put them in the bed of the pickup. The three tractors left the yard with John driving in the lead position.
Craig went to his office, consulting with Don about some changes Warren Collins had come up with, then entering the new dimensions in the computer to update the plans. He found one change where the dimensions weren't right and the computer flagged the error. Don had some extra time, so Craig questioned him about properties that might be suitable to remodel for his family.
"Have you talked to the people who are looking into buying the old Beauford mansion over on Buchanan?" Craig asked.
"I'm glad you asked. They are trying to make arrangements to look at it on Wednesday morning, so put that on your calendar and we'll both go with them," Don said.
"With Joey living with us now, we've decided that the condo really isn't large enough for three adult men and we're starting to talk about another residence. We might consider an older property if something suitable happened to become available. However, it might be easier to design something and build it."
"You know there was a rumor about a couple of other properties over on Buchanan becoming available. The one next to the Beauford mansion is even larger than it is. It's more the size of St. James Rectory," said Don.
"Yeah, you mentioned that, but we didn't discuss which one," Craig said.
"I've heard that the two just south of the Beauford mansion could become available. That would just leave the one north of the rectory and those people aren't in good health," Don said.
"That would be great if that whole block was restored. The properties across the street are in pretty good shape, but they are at least 15 years newer than the others.
"They are in a different development that wasn't divided into lots until almost 20 years after the ones on the east side of the street," Don told him.
"That explains why," Craig said.
They talked about other properties around Williamsport, but there was nothing currently on the market that might satisfy the needs of Craig and his family.
Craig went to the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd for Mrs. Ernst's funeral, arriving ahead of the organ prelude. He decided that the church probably had a small pipe organ, but there were no pipes visible anywhere. The organist played well, but was no Paul Rathborne. Craig had never been to a service in a Lutheran Church before and was surprised at the similarity to the Episcopal service at St. James. Vernon Ernst had been right. There were few people, less than two dozen, at the service. He was glad he had made the effort to attend.
The burial was to be private. Craig went through the receiving line after the service. He greeted Vernon and he introduced Craig to his sister, who was very distraught.
She grabbed hold of him and wailed, "Oh my God, you were the last person to see mother alive."
Craig tried to disentangle himself from her. "That's possible, but we don't know that for sure."
More wails. "I loved her so much, I can just never forgive myself for not going over there to her apartment at least twice a day," she sobbed.
Craig was thinking, 'I don't need to be part of her guilt trip.'
Vernon helped him extract himself from her, thanking him for attending the service and told him he would visit with him later that afternoon.
After the funeral, Craig drove to the Bar-W to see Ray Evans and check his progress with the crew quarters.
Dale's vehicle wasn't in the driveway, so he thought he was either out on errands or at another part of the ranch.
"Hey Craig," Ray greeted him.
"Ray!" he answered as he walked into the kitchen area.
"We're going to be finished here by the end of the week. I told Marty 'November first' and we're going to make it," Ray told him.
"What's left for you to do?" Craig asked.
"Installation of the air conditioning system and the floor tile in each room, including part of the basement. That will take them about five days, so we'll certainly be finished a week from today," he said.
"It's looking good," Craig said. "I wonder if he's going to want the same type of building for the cattle and horse crews?"
"Knowing Marty, he won't skimp on the other buildings. The Williamson's take care of their employees and they provide the best they can to make sure they are treated right."
"I know that. You've done a great job in getting this place finished," Craig said.
"The weather was with us. We've had several days of rain, but it wasn't until after the house was closed in that it occurred."
"You have a good crew, Ray. I've watched them work; they don't fool around any and they seem to work well together."
"Keith, Andy and I try to hire good people and pay them well enough they generally stay on for a long period of time. We've grown our company slowly and have been lucky that we've been able to prove ourselves time and time again with early completion dates and good workmanship."
"It shows," Craig said.
"We're going to have to hire another crew soon. We've got a bid out now on a big job and I've been told we only have one competitor and he's not reliable. The company contracting the work knows that and is glad they don't have to go the 'low bid' route. So, if you hear of a good foreman that's looking for work, send him around to see me," Ray said.
"I'll do that, but I sure don't know of anyone right now."
"Keep your ear to the ground, maybe you'll hear of someone."
"Say Ray, we've decided that the condo we live in isn't large enough for the three of us. We're starting to consider something else and are debating about looking for an old, elegant house to totally refurbish like we did with St. James' Rectory. The other alternative, of course, is to design something for us and build from scratch," Craig said.
"I think you fellows would be much happier with something that you designed and built, Craig. The other is time-consuming and expensive and most of the time you have to compromise so much that you really don't get what you hoped for.
"Right now, there is the rumor that the old Beauford house may become available. That wouldn't be large enough for the three of you, but the place next door would be. However, if someone buys the Beauford property to restore, that will make the prices go up on the other places on that block."
"I know about the Beauford place. Don and I have an appointment this week to look at the property with one of his clients," Craig said.
"Of the properties on that block, it's the most desirable, but only because it's been kept up and needs minimum outside work. The inside is in pretty good shape, but needs to be stripped out and new wiring and plumbing put in, as well as modern air conditioning," Ray told him.
"I've been doing some thinking about designing a house that looks like the old turn-of-the-century places with modern fixtures and amenities, or going completely contemporary. You know that you can take a very contemporary design and put old things in it with great success, too," Craig said.
"Yes, and there are a number of salvage places around here where they have rescued old houses that were being taken out for freeway construction or urban renewal. You can buy everything from stained glass to brass fixtures, old plumbing fixtures and about anything else you can think of," Ray told him.
"I know that. Every large city has them from Houston to Dallas and anywhere else. You just have to 'shop carefully'," Craig said.
"There is a whole treasure trove of stuff that's available, but you almost have to go every week, especially if they are tearing out old homes and buildings. The inventory changes daily, but they will look for specific things you are wanting," Ray added.
"I'm glad to have your input on this," Craig said. "It's always good to have a builders opinion."
"I'd be glad to bid on anything that you decide you want to do. It would be an honor to work on a home for you," Ray said.
"Thanks, bud. I really appreciate that, and I know Dale and Joey do, also," Craig said.
As Craig was leaving the Bar-W, Marty was backing his car out of the garage. They waved at each other, but Craig didn't stop to talk. However, Dale was coming up the driveway in his Blazer, so he pulled over to let Marty by, and then talked to his lover.
"Hey, guy, what's going on?" Dale asked.
"I've been the funeral for Mrs. Ernst, then came on out here. I knew Ray was going to be here this morning and wanted to talk to him. He thinks he could be done by Friday and certainly will finish next Monday, a week from today. That will put him two days ahead of time on his estimated completion date."
"Great. The guys only have to give a weeks notice at the Starlight, although Al would rather have two weeks. If Chris eats lunch with us today, I'll try to find out how she and Jeanine are doing on furnishing the place. We'll certainly have them moved in by Thanksgiving."
"There shouldn't be too much to do. I figure there will be mini-blinds at the windows, beds in every area, a chest or dresser and maybe a chair in the bedrooms. The main room on the first floor probably should have a table and chairs where they can eat, play cards or other games, Craig said.
"Yes, and the weight bench in the barn can go in the basement," Dale told him.
"You might talk to Ray, but he said the main things to be done was installation of the heating/air conditioning unit and then put down floor tile in all the rooms and part of the basement," Craig reported.
I'll drive back and talk to him right now. I'll see you about 5:45 when I get home," Dale said, then quietly added, "I love you, stud."
"I love you, too. Don't forget to drive a pickup home so we can take care of Joey's TV and entertainment center."
"How could I forget? He's a good kid, isn't he?" Dale asked.
"The best. I'm lucky, I've got two of you," Craig said as he started on down the driveway.
That statement made Dale feel good. He loved Craig and they both loved Joey.
Dale didn't make it down to the crew quarters right away as he was working in the office, trying to clear up the mess of paperwork that seemed to have found its way to his desk. Most of it was routine, initialing invoices that Sam and Lee had already approved, but he needed to sign off on it, too.
He noticed a vehicle drive past the barn, but wasn't really paying any attention. Shortly afterward, the office door opened and Mort walked in. He was carrying another sheaf of paperwork in a file folder.
"Hi Mort. Don't tell me you have another 20 pounds of paperwork to dump on my desk, too?"
"Naa. only 15 today. I left the other five a little earlier," he said, laughing. "What's the matter, getting tired of 'rubber stamping' everything around here?"
"No, but that brings up a question. I trust Sam and Lee because I know you guys are doing your job, but are there any safeguards that invoices aren't being pushed through for goods that aren't delivered? I mean, it's not like we have a purchase order or something to compare everything to," Dale questioned.
"You have a good and valid point. I've never had any problem with either of them or any reason to doubt anything they've ever told me, but you might question something from time to time, just to let them know you are on top of things. I don't think you have anything to worry about, but that does show them you are interested in their departments and have an interest in what they are doing."
"Good, because I have to trust them and I don't want to offend them because we all have to work together," Dale told him.
"Do you have the last set of financial statements that Morris Johnsmore provided to the Bar-W?"
"Yes, right here," Dale said, pulling an envelope from the file drawer.
"A lot of items are things you can compare the year-to-date figures against from previous statements. Morris used to provide us with a statement that showed several years, along with the percentage to income figures. If he isn't still giving you that, ask for it. It can sometimes help spot figures that seem too high or too low. You can look at the detail to see what caused it, then ask questions if you feel it's necessary," Mort told him.
Dale had the papers Mort had mentioned and laid them out on the desk.
Mort went on to explain about seasonal purchases, sales happening in July of one year and maybe in September the next. They spent quite a bit of time looking at the financial statements with Mort explaining some of the finer points to Dale.
The telephone rang and Dale could see that it was a call from the main house.
"Dale Richards," he said as he picked up the phone.
"Dale, it's Bertha Wood. Are you going to eat with us today?"
"Ohmygosh," came out as one word. "Mort is here with me and we're looking at financial statements. I'm sorry."
"No problem, Dale. Why don't you ask Mort to eat with us?"
"Just a minute."
"It's Mrs. Wood," Dale told Mort. Do you want to eat lunch with us today?"
"No, I need to meet Margie about ten minutes ago. Sorry, I didn't mean to run into your lunch hour."
"Mort has to meet his wife," Dale explained. "I'll be there in about five minutes," Dale told Mrs. Wood.
"That's okay. We'll be ready to sit down about the time you get here," Mrs. Wood said.
"Mort, thanks for taking the time to explain all of this to me. I don't fully understand it, but I think I have a better idea of where to start looking, now," Dale said.
"That's okay. Why don't we make an appointment with Morris Johnsmore sometime soon? I'm sure he can tell you what to look for and give you some pointers about financial statements. I'm sorry, but I need to get on my way. We're still looking at RV's, but think we are going to take your suggestion and rent several different ones before we actually buy one. And, that's not to say that we might not stick with renting one whenever we want to travel. Like you said, we can stay in a lot of first-class hotels for the cost of ownership of one of those fuel-guzzling road hogs."
Dale laughed. "Tell Margie that I hope you both have a great time making a decision like this."
"I'll do so. You have a great lunch with Mrs. Wood and whoever else is there. I'll talk to you later," Mort said.
Dale walked Mort to the door and started for the kitchen as Mort drove away.
"Sorry, I'm late. I hope I didn't hold you up," he told Mrs. Wood and Chris, who was standing in the kitchen.
"No, we're just ready to sit down," Chris said.
Dale held the chair for Chris as she sat down.
"Go ahead and sit, Dale," Mrs. Wood said. "I'll serve the plates."
They had a nice conversation as they ate. Chris told a little about their weekend and the planned cruise to Cozumel. She and Mrs. Wood had questions about their trip to Houston, the possible sale of the house and estate sale.
Dale told them about Craig's parents driving down from Arlington to help go through everything and pack the things Joey wanted keep, and their weekend in Williamsport.
"Sounds like you had a very busy five days," Chris said.
"Yes," Dale said. "We managed to get in some recreation time, too. I took all of them on a horseback ride to the river where we swim, then across the pastures of the horse operation and back out below the bluffs at the north end of the ranch. They were really impressed with my favorite place to go on the ranch. It's a wonderful place."
"Where is that?" Chris questioned.
Dale told her about the area. She could tell he was excited about it.
They talked about the crew quarters and Chris told him that Jeanine had done some of the preliminary work toward furnishing the place, mainly buying things needed in the kitchen; a microwave and a few small appliances, pots and pans and a table and chairs for the main lounge room.
"We need to get measurements and decide about mini-blinds or shades for all the windows. Then we need to find out about beds for the guys. I understand that there is space for a double bed in each of the six bedrooms?" she asked.
"Yes, but Michael and Pat have indicated that they want to share a room, put the beds in one area and have the other available to put comfortable chairs and their TV set in," Dale told her.
"That's fine. Maybe I need to talk to the men and find out what they want. We won't do this again, but since they are the first to live there, they might as well have things that are comfortable to them. The ones who come after them will have to be happy with what's already there."
"You are being more than generous," Dale said. "Most people would go to a used furniture store and pick out the cheapest and not care if it fit the employee's needs," Dale said.
"We are doing this because we hope the men will stay on longer and when they do leave for whatever reason, there is a line of good men waiting to take their place."
"These men are good - and appreciative, too," Dale agreed.
"When do Jeanine and I have to have our work completed?" Chris asked.
"Ray will be through in another week, maybe even this Friday or Saturday. The men need to give at least a weeks notice at the Starlight, so you tell us when they need to do that."
"I'll see if Jeanine can go down there with me this afternoon. If we're lucky, we can find blinds and curtains to fit without having to have anything made."
"That would be great. If I can help you in any way, please let me know."
"Thanks, Dale. I'll keep you informed about what's going on and if you think of anything we've forgotten, let me know," Chris said.
Morris was able to secure an appointment for Bret and himself with Gus Douglas at 1:30 p.m. He told Gus that Bret worked for him and was also treasurer of the Victory Temple and had discovered a serious problem with the finances of the organization. That was all the explanation given.
He and Bret hadn't had lunch together for a couple of years, mainly because Bret seemed to idolize Jimmy Bob Jones and his whole world seemed to revolve around whatever the ministers latest whim was. He felt sorry for Bret, but it was really none of his business.
Then Bret had gotten nasty about things he was doing at his job, being critical of how the Williamson family spent their money. The latest had all started with him taking exception to Dale being appointed as general manager of the Bar-W Ranch and then Bret started questioning legitimate expenses and credit card usage by Dale. He really came unglued when he saw Craig's name on a motel reservation in Waco, Texas. It didn't make any difference that the Bar-W had sent a number of people to that horse show.
So, he invited Bret to lunch with him at the Men's Grill in the Cattlemen's Hotel that noon, not knowing if he would even accept.
Bret did accept and they walked to the hotel about noon for their meal. He had never seen Bret as relaxed as he was that day, although he could tell he was probably anxious about their meeting with Gus Douglas.
Morris decided to have a noon drink, something he seldom indulged in, but when the waiter came to take their drink order, he asked for a dry Manhattan. He looked at Bret.
"Unnn, I seldom have a drink, what do you recommend?" Bret asked.
"Bring him a dry Manhattan, also," Morris told the waiter.
He had barely left their table when Bret told Morris that his son, Bret Junior, had attended St. James church the day before. "He certainly is impressed with your church service and has been invited to sing in the choir," Bret said proudly.
"That's a wonderful choir and they are a real asset to Williamsport. They have been invited to sing next fall at the Convention for the Diocese of Dallas. That's not even our own diocese."
Bret, of course, didn't know what he was talking about, but it sounded important.
"I'm not going to continue as the treasurer for Victory Temple, but I want to get this mess worked out and not just quit in the middle of it because I feel somewhat responsible for not questioning things, but it wouldn't have done any good, anyway, I guess," Bret said.
Morris nodded his head without saying anything.
"I don't think we will be attending that church anymore, regardless of whom they find to replace Jimmy Bob. I was raised in the Baptist Church and Beth grew up in the Assembly of God denomination. Some friends invited us to attend Victory Temple right after we moved here. Dr. Phil Arnett was still alive, then after his death Jimmy Bob was the new leader. It seemed like he was gung-ho to wage his war against sin and the church actually grew for a little bit, then we started losing members, usually with no explanation as to why they no longer attended."
"That's a tough decision," Morris said.
"No, actually it isn't. I feel like I've been used by him and have gotten no thanks for it. He made a lot of messes and expected others to clean them up for him, not really knowing what kind of damage control we were doing. If someone quit attending, he expected me to call on them, smooth things over and then make them feel guilty and make a contribution or pay their obligation.
"I did so, thinking I was helping the church and all the while he was helping himself to the cash that was coming in. It makes me feel as guilty is he is, I guess just by being associated with him. Regardless, Beth and I've come to conclude that Victory Temple isn't where we want to be in the future."
"Bret, from what you've told me, you have no reason to feel guilt or wrongdoing on your part. You have done what so many others like you have done. You've followed a charismatic leader. That person happened to be Jimmy Bob Jones, but there are a lot of others out there, in every denomination. They come in, build up the church, leave for various reasons and those who are left find out they've been following the leader, not working to build the church.
"We could possibly have the same problem at St. James. Fr. George has made a big hit here in Williamsport and has made our parish grow by leaps and bounds since he's been at the church. However, I think I can safely say that he's not running the parish all by himself. He's provided leadership, but the various boards and committees seem to function without his even attending all of their meetings. He chooses to delegate others to take care of the actually running of the parish. You'll find him out making contacts, visiting the sick and infirm, those in need and those who have a heavy burden. He has no authority to solicit money, nor spend it, except for his 'Rector's Discretionary Fund' which is funded mostly by contributions for his services for weddings, funerals and special needs. The vestry regularly puts money in but I'm pretty sure the account is closer to an overdraft status all the time, rather than amassing large amounts of money. You'll never hear him make a plea from the pulpit for money, even during our annual Stewardship Drive.
"Now we don't have an ideal situation, but he's perfectly content with the way the parish runs and people are certainly happy with him and his partner, Paul, our organist and choirmaster. Everyone in the parish knows they are gay, and will defend them to a man if someone says something bad about either of them. We are looking at what they can do and not worried about their sexual preferences."
"Yes, but what the Bible has to say about those sexual preferences." Bret started to say.
"Bret, you have to remember that Old Testament Books of the Bible were written several thousand years ago. If you read the first five books of Moses, the Jewish people call them the Torah, you find five books prescribing ritual slaughter, laws governing sacrifices, cleansing, marriage, and everything about the daily lives of those people. If any minister today suggested we return to those words and take them literally, they would be laughed out of town.
"I don't pretend to be a scholar of the Bible, Episcopalians are noted for hearing only the lessons read at mass, but we don't know the true intent of much of what we read today. Circumstances were much different then. Human seed needed to be protected and used for procreation only. Is it any different today? Do we still sacrifice animals at the altar of God? What else has changed from the time these books were written - and were they only written by one person or were things added as the centuries went by? We don't know, but anything can be taken out of context and made to seem a complete statement and have a meaning totally different than what it is extracted from. Then there is the problem of the original language being translated into others. They've found mistakes in meanings that changed the whole subject."
Bret started to say something. "I. err."
Morris waved his hand.
"Bret, this is the reason we have at least 30 different churches in Williamsport. The Presbyterians don't quite interpret the Bible the same as the Methodists, or the Roman Catholics, or the Episcopalians, or the Baptists. Hopefully, we are all trying to get to the same place when we leave this life, but one denomination is not better than the next. It's where our comfort level is and what appeals to us. Victory Temple appealed to you at one point in your life. Now it doesn't. Find a place and visit it, visit others, ask questions. No one will criticize you for doing that - except maybe the people at Victory Temple."
They both laughed.
"I really don't care what they think. I feel like that church has extracted a very heavy penalty from my family. It's hurt our family life. It's affected two of my sons, both of which knew about Jimmy Bob's dalliances. Bret Junior was a victim and Paul knew about what was happening to a friend of his, but both felt they were powerless to do anything about it. This is because of two reasons; the first was that Jimmy Bob told them they would go to hell if they told. In the case of Paul's friend, he told his parents but they didn't believe him. However, they did stop attending Victory Temple.
Morris was listening carefully. He, of course, knew that Bret Junior had been a victim.
"You know, I think we should suggest to Gus Douglas that some of the money be put into a fund to provide counseling to all those Jimmy Bob has wronged and their families, too."
"Can we do that?" Bret asked. He hadn't thought about that.
"I don't know what we can or can't do, but this is the reason we're going to see him and see what he has to say about this whole thing.
Bret cautiously asked, "If my family was to visit your church, would we be welcome. and what should be expect?"
"Of course, you would be welcome. The service is considerably different than what you are used to at your church. No offense intended, but our service is very dignified and there is a lot of ritual and ceremony. The core of the service, or mass as we call it, is somewhat the same each Sunday of the year, but we recognize the liturgical year and each special day has it's place in the church calendar with the whole scheme of scriptures and Gospel lessons read during the year.
"The service can be very daunting to someone who has not experienced it before. I'm sure you will be in awe of the music and ceremony, but that's only a small part of it. My wife and I would be happy to give you a little preparation ahead of time, but it really is better if you go to observe and take part if it suits you, then ask questions later. The next Sunday you attend, it will make more sense. There is a new 'Inquirers class' that is just starting and that should answer a lot of questions."
"Right, my son went to something called Evening Prayer and then there was a class afterward. He said it answered a lot of questions he had, but that he would be going back as the class lasted several weeks."
"Sounds like your son has already found a new church home," Morris said.
"He's been invited to join the choir and he loves to sing, so maybe this will be an opportunity for him to feel that he's part of something he chooses to do instead of being forced as we've been doing. I'm sorry to say this, but we've had some real 'knock-down drag-outs' over him attending Sunday School and church with us."
Morris wisely kept quiet.
"I feel like a jerk. We, at least me, thought we were guiding him in the right direction, only to realize that we were heaping more pain on him - on top of what he had already experienced."
"Don't beat yourself up over this. It isn't something that you are alone in experiencing. I'm not saying that some damage hasn't been done, but let him find his own way. You've shown him the way, he knows the difference now, let him do what he wants regardless of you and your wife and the rest of your family do as far as attending a church."
"Thanks, Morris. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I didn't realize that I'd gotten screwed up and was doing the same thing to my family. If Bret wants to become part of St. James, that's fine with his mother and me. I think we'd like to come see what he's excited about."
"Why don't we talk about this later in the week and you can sit with my wife and me if you want to go with us next Sunday. I'm not promising that we can answer all the questions you might have, but certainly Fr. George can."
"Thanks. We'll probably take you up on your offer."
To Bret, this opportunity to have lunch and a frank discussion with Morris was the best thing that had happened to him in years. He hoped he could remember the entire conversation to relate to Beth.
Dale enjoyed a romp with Brandy and Ginger, Jason and Kevin's collie dogs. The pups were now almost four months old and although they hadn't yet attained their full size, were very much adult dogs in their personalities. The dogs were being trained well as they obeyed any commands to sit, heel, shake and roll over. Dale figured that Marty and Chris probably had helped with that, although Jason and Kevin were diligent when it came to any duties that needed to be done.
Leaving the dogs in the confines of their fenced yard, Dale walked down to the new house that was being build for his crew. Ray and two of his men were measuring and snapping chalk lines for laying floor tile in each room.
"Hi Ray," Dale said in greeting his friend.
"Hello Dale. Be with you in just a minute, trying to see why the rooms are not square. Must be the faulty plans that architect gave me," he said, laughing.
"Don't tell him that," Dale laughed.
About that time, all three men stood up. "This is Migel and Rafael," Ray said, introducing his men. "This is Dale. He's the General Manager of the Bar-W Ranch."
They shook hands.
"This is looking good. I can see you are getting close to completion," Dale told them.
"If everything goes as planned, we should be finished by Friday. We've got about 2,300 square feet of floor tile to lay on the three floors and Migel and Rafael are fast workers. The fellow from Climatic Systems has promised he will be here tomorrow afternoon to set the air conditioning equipment in place and hook it up. Then there is baseboard to cut and nail in place after the floor tile is down," Ray said.
"It looks like somebody hit the wall," Dale said, fingering a dent in the sheetrock where someone had hit it.
"I'll go through tomorrow and fix places like that, then sand them and cover them with some paint on Wednesday," he said.
While they were talking, a delivery truck came up the driveway.
"Here's our floor tile and mastic right now," Ray said, walking toward the door. "Come on guys, you can help unload this."
Migel and Rafael followed him outside. Two men from 'Floors and More' hopped out of the cab and rolled up the rear door of the delivery van.
Ray and Dale stood to watch, Ray telling the men to stack the boxes along the wall of the common room. He was watching the numbers on the boxes to make sure all boxes of each pattern were of the same lot number.
"I don't know for sure how much English Migel and Rafael understand, but the rest of us assume it's more than they let on," Ray said quietly.
"If they do good work, does it make any difference?" Dale questioned.
"No, not in that sense, but I'd be glad to give them more responsible jobs if they could, but they seem happy doing what they are doing."
"Why don't you find someone who is fluent in both languages and have them talk to the men for you. Maybe they need some lessons and are afraid to ask for help?" Dale asked.
"You might be right there. I never thought about them being embarrassed. These guys can do about anything if you show them what you want, but it's sure hard to communicate with them," Ray told him.
"Just a suggestion. Lee Baker had the same problem last year with a couple of new men he hired. They were great with the horses, but they talked mainly through sign language for the first two months until he got them enrolled in a free "English as a Second Language" course at the Junior College. Come to find out they understood most of what he was telling them, but they were afraid to talk back because they weren't sure how to pronounce words and thought he would make fun of them. After they got over that barrier, they speak as well as those of us who grew up with it," Dale said.
"Do you speak Spanish?" Ray asked.
No comprehendo," Dale laughed, and then added. "I guess I should take a course, because I know that someday I'm going to end up having to do so."
"I should make the same effort," Ray said.
"Hey, bud, I've got to get back to my office and get invoices approved and to the accountant so they can be paid. I'll relay the message to Chris and Jeanine that they can expect you to be out of here by Monday afternoon, although Chris mentioned coming down this afternoon to take some measurements for blinds and curtains.
"Yeah, I know we'll be done on Friday, but need to get tools out and trash hauled away, so everything will be out of here on Monday."
"Great. You've done a fantastic job and I know Marty is pleased with your workmanship and the fact you are ahead of schedule."
"Thanks. You guys are great to work with and don't tell him that, but Craig is a great guy, too. I just don't want him to get a swelled head," Ray laughed.
"By the way, he and I talked a little bit this morning about a new place for you fellows to live. I honestly think you would be happier designing and building what you want rather than trying to find an old house and restore it," Ray told Dale.
"I think we've pretty much come to that conclusion. I don't think there is any existing property available with the character we'd want.
"Well, it's a big challenge to remodel an old place and still make it look original. Not that it can't be done, but Craig knows that."
"I appreciate your advice and I'll pass the word on," Dale said.
"He knows that. I'd be honored to work on any project that you guys would come up with, though," Ray said.
"Thanks, Ray. We appreciate that," Dale said, shaking hands and turning to go back to his office.
By the time they finished lunch, it was time to walk over to Gus Douglas's office. Bret had financial statements in his briefcase, so they stopped at the office to get them and walked on to their appointment with Gus.
His office was in the Williamsport Tower, a part of the Williamson's Properties. Bret had never been in the building before, but knew it was in the "high rent" district. The decor of the lobby reflected money. They rode to the 7th floor in silence and stepped into a lobby that spoke of elegance and money.
"Why aren't our offices over here?" Bret asked as a joke.
"Because you and I chose to be bean counters rather than rip- off artists," Morris enjoyed telling him. They both laughed about that.
They entered the outer office and introduced themselves to the receptionist.
"Yes, Mr. Douglas is expecting you. Right this way," she said, indicating they were to follow her down the hall.
Bret had seen Gus Douglas before, but hadn't connected the name with the face. He was surprised at his gregarious manner, greeting him like an old friend, along with the same for Morris.
"Morris told me only a little bit about what you wanted to talk to me about. I think I'll let you start at the beginning and I'll interrupt as necessary to clarify something or for additional information, if that's okay with you," he told Bret.
"That's fine," Bret said, launching into his story.
When he got to the part about Marcus Streeter saying that he wouldn't represent Jimmy Bob Jones, Gus interrupted. "You're not asking me to represent him, are you?"
"No, what I want your advice on is something entirely different, but connected with Victory Temple and their corporate status. I can skip ahead, but thought you might want some background," Bret told him.
"No, that's fine. This is an interesting story," he smiled.
Bret went through the part where the money was discovered in Jimmy Bob's office and home.
"Did you deposit this cash?" came the question.
Bret answered in the affirmative. He hesitated before going on with the story, as if he was gathering his strength.
"Go on, I didn't mean to interrupt you."
"You didn't. I was just trying to decide what I needed to tell you next."
He resumed with the story about their corporation status. Gus questioned him a little, but told him the same thing Morris had, that he needed to check with the Secretary of State's office to see what they had, obtain copies, and then file the missing returns.
Bret went on with his story. He was watching for Gus' reaction to the part about the money in the coffee cans. It was as expected.
"Geez. you mean with all the problems the church was having financially, he was the cause of it - ripping you off?"
"Yes." Bret told him a little about Jimmy Bob trying to get him to put a second mortgage on his home to cover them at the bank.
"You didn't, did you?" Gus asked carefully.
"No, thank God. I didn't, although I had made an application that had been approved. I just hadn't followed through."
"Where are the coffee cans now?" Gus asked.
"Hidden in the back of one of the closets at my house," Bret said.
"Let's put this money in a special account so it doesn't become part of the present bank accounts. I don't think there should be any problem. The I.R.S. will probably look into this, but that shouldn't have any effect on this as it's money that's been recovered. They may throw the book at Jimmy Bob, but it won't do them any good as it doesn't appear that he has any assets unless he has some other money hidden away."
"Morris said something about putting some of this money aside to provide counseling for the boys that have been victims, along with their families," Bret said.
"You don't want to get into that. Too many people are going to want to present claims for some of the money then and you'll spend all of it trying to substantiate claims and the people it's intended to help will never see a dime.
"I think we can keep this quiet, at least for the present time, but you're going to have church members who talk to others and the story will get around town pretty quickly. My advice right now, is to use this money to pay off everything that is owed on the property and buildings, but let me do a little research on that first," Gus told them.
Morris spoke up. "I'll call a friend over at the Central Texas Bank and explain that we have a large amount of cash to deposit and request they set aside a room with a bank officer present to help us accomplish this today."
"Beth will thank you for getting the money out of our house," Bret said.
Gus stood to indicate their meeting was over.
"Thank you for seeing us today," Bret said, offering his left hand to shake.
"I'm glad to be of help. Let me see if I can get you better advice about paying off the liabilities of the church and helping you file the missing corporate reports," Gus said, shaking both their hands.
Dale's cell phone rang about 4:30. It was Joey, advising him that he was at Daniel Pearson's house at 4003 Maple. He wanted Dale to pick him up there on his way home. Dale agreed and told him he would be there about 5:45.
Dale called Craig at his office to tell him that he would pick Joey up at a friend's home on his way home.
"How was his first day of school?" Craig asked with a little concern in his voice.
"We didn't talk about that, but he's made at least one new friend, and it's a name that I don't know so I'd say he's doing okay.
"Great. I'll be home about 5:30 or so and I'll stop at the grocery to get some things for dinner, unless you'd rather eat out," Craig said.
"Don't forget that we told Joey we'd move the big TV, then look for an entertainment center cabinet for him," Dale said.
"I know. Why don't we eat at home? That way we can work on putting that cabinet together, if we need to and get it put in place. I'll have something simple to prepare, like baked chicken or pork chops or something that's easy to fix and a salad and vegetable to go with it," Craig said.
"As long as it's you that's cooking," Dale teased.
"You're right, maybe we should eat out," Craig giggled.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, dear. Joey and I are very appreciative of your kitchen skills."
Craig sensed that Dale was giving him a bad time, nevertheless, he'd see to it that they had a good dinner that evening, even if he had to call Tricia at LeGourmet and have the meal catered in.
Craig had just let Mitsy out and followed her down the stairs when Dale and Joey drove up in the Bar-W pickup. Mitsy wasted no time greeting Joey and demanding that he rub her chest and stomach.
After they were back home from shopping, Joey took Mitsy outside while Dale and Craig took the box with the entertainment center to Joey's bedroom. Everything was included in the Busch package and all they needed for assembly was a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.
With the three of them working together assembly didn't take fifteen minutes and they were ready to place the unit in the corner of Joey's room and start loading the TV, CD player, VHS, tape deck and tuner, plugging the cables for all the components into the appropriate places.
Craig went to the kitchen to take care of finishing their evening meal while Joey checked out the various remotes and hooked up the cable for the TV. Although they seldom watched TV, Craig had subscribed to HBO, Showtime and Cinamax so those were available without a 'black box' being used.
Dale and Joey went to the living room and hooked that TV and VCR up to the cable and soon had those units working properly.
When they went to the kitchen to report, Craig thanked them and suggested that Dale fix them a drink. Joey was looking at the mail Craig brought in earlier. There was a note from his friend, Jeremy Young, in Houston. Joey was surprised to hear from him as he figured two or three of the others might try to keep in touch, but not Jeremy.
He had scrawled, "If you want me to come visit next summer, I think it would be awesome to see the ranch you talked about." He had simply signed it, 'Jeremy".
Dale came to the kitchen with the drinks but had to add ice to each. As he gave Joey his Ginger Ale, he said, "Anything interesting in the mail?"
"Yeah, here's something addressed to both of you. Looks like it's from Tom and Eddie."
"Open it," Craig said.
"They're having a Halloween party on Saturday night and all three of us are invited," Dale said as he read the invitation.
"Cool!" Joey replied.
"This says 'costumes mandatory'," Dale was still reading. "Cocktails at 6:30, Buffet at 7:30."
"That should be fun," Craig said.
"Costumes. That's really awesome," Joey said.
"Guess we can come up with something," Craig said. "I might go as 'Father Time' or something like that."
"What about some of the Star Trek characters?" Dale asked.
"I know!" Joey said. They both could tell he was excited. Craig looked at him with a question in his eyes.
"You're gonna love this idea," Joey said.
Craig wasn't so sure, even though he hadn't heard it. He just knew.
"Dad Craig can go as Cinderella, you can go as Prince Charming and I'll be the Fairy Godmother," Joey said, obviously pleased with himself.
"Joey!" Craig said. "What on earth made you think of something like that?"
"Dale was laughing, after all his character required no costume (he thought) and he could go as himself.
"Why not?" Joey said. "Halloween is all about spirits and spooks and the improbable and that would be great for us to do as a family."
Dale was all for it. Craig wasn't so sure he wanted to be Cinderella.
They talked about it while eating their dinner and Craig finally gave in. Secretly he thought it would be fun, but wondered whatever possessed Joey to come up with this idea. Dale didn't get off the hook so easily, either. His costume was to be tights, a ruffled-front shirt and vest with a crown.
Joey thought that Craig should be a "modern Cinderella" with a mini skirt, see-through blouse with plastic tits showing under the blouse, but Craig nixed that idea thinking he could probably find a formal at the thrift shop that would fit.
For his own costume, he was going to dress like a genie in tights, fitted shirt, a hat of some kind and carry a pouch that said "Fairy Dust" on it.
Dale thought this was the best thing he'd heard in a long time. Craig did, too, but wondered about Joey's idea. Oh well, Halloween was supposed to be fun. They agreed to start looking for their costumes the next evening. In the meantime, Dale called Tom and Eddie to accept their invitation and see if they could help by providing anything.
"Hi Dale," Tom said. "No just bring yourselves. This really is a mixed party as there will be both gay and 'gay- friendly' straight people and there will be a few high school students as well as adults. It's a great group of people and I'm glad you will be joining us. Our party has become somewhat of a tradition here in Williamsport."
"Well, it sounds like fun and we're going to start looking for our costumes tomorrow," Dale told him. Craig was standing in the kitchen rolling his eyes. Joey was excited about being invited to a costume party. And this one sounded like an adult party.
As they were putting things away in the kitchen and loading the dishwasher, talk turned to the purchase of a computer system.
"This Computer Lab seems to be a required course," Joey said. "But, I'm not sure Kent Korte knows much more than those of us in the class. His big thing is this bulletin board that he has on his computer at his house. Everyone in the class is supposed to call and register everyday and he can tell who has made access and when."
"What's the purpose of the class?" Craig asked.
"To make us computer literate. We're supposed to learn how to write some simple programs in Basic computer language, but that's already outdated. There are newer programs that are much more powerful and can do a lot more than Basic, which is pretty limited."
"What are those programs?" Craig questioned.
"dBase and FoxBASE," are two of them and they use identical file structures. I asked him about those two programs and he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about," Joey told them. He's teaching a little about Lotus and WordStar and the teachers allow us to hand in reports that have been printed by a computer.
"He doesn't make any real effort to teach anything. It's kind of like a 'learn it yourself' class. Daniel and Hal said that if you act interested, he'll answer questions, but otherwise he leaves you alone. Hal said that he didn't think anyone had ever gotten an 'A' but that he hadn't failed anyone, either. I've worked hard to maintain my status as an honor student and hate to see that end just because a teacher isn't doing his job."
Dale agreed, loudly. "There are too many teachers like this. Paul Dennison is another one. He's impressed with himself and the only thing the kids are learning is a bad image of boot camp!"
"Let me make a few phone calls tomorrow," Craig said. "Maybe we can beat him at his own game, whatever it is."
"That would be great," Joey said. "I don't like to complain or sound whiney, but I think if you talk to some of the others in that class who are really trying, they'll back me up."
"We don't doubt but what you are right," Dale said. "I think Craig agrees with me that we can find someone to help the bunch of you and Kent Korte will wonder what has hit him."
"What are you going to do?" Craig asked, knowing Dale had an Ace up his sleeve.
"We can maybe interest the people at Electronic Home or another computer store to offer a 'free' computer course. It shouldn't be too hard to get someone from the Junior College or even from Austin to teach what's needed. After all, the more users they get, the more computers they are likely to sell, right?" Dale said.
"That's brilliant. I knew there was a reason I married you," Craig said, kissing Dale on the lips.
Joey walked up and gave them a hug. "Thanks Dads, I really appreciate you helping me out on this."
"It's not a matter of 'helping out', Joey, it's for your survival. After all Kent Korte isn't smart enough to realize that as an honor student, you getting a bad grade in his class is a flag that he's not a good teacher. The other, more serious problem is that you shouldn't have any problem in getting scholarship offers for whatever you want to do. This is a more personal matter as far as you are concerned," Dale told them.
"And if I have to learn to program in Basic, you can be assured that I'll do anything I can to help our son," Craig said, giving Joey a hug and a kiss on his cheek.
"Gee, thanks Mom," Joey said, beaming a 1000-watt smile.
"Young man, you are pushing it." Craig teased.
"Just don't say anything to the other kids until we've had a chance to see what we can do to help all of you, okay?" Dale asked.
"Okay!" Joey said with enthusiasm.
"I have some reading and need to review the Algebra chapters they've already covered here. Mr. Shanklin wants me to take a test that covers some problems from each chapter to make sure I'm up with the rest of the class."
"Mark Shanklin?" Dale questioned.
"Oh yeah, I forgot, he said he'd had you for a student and that you were good in all his classes."
"He was a good teacher. Instead of lecturing, he got right in and worked with us. The last year I was in school they had him teaching only Advanced Placement classes. Is he still doing that?" Dale questioned.
"Hal said this was the only class he taught that wasn't an A/P class. But, I have to agree; he makes you want to learn. Not like Kent Korte," Joey said.
"You'll do well with Mark Shanklin. He's good and realizes that if you don't do well, it's a direct reflection of his ability to teach," Dale said.
"I'm going to go look at my Algebra. That's the only thing that I have for tomorrow. The rest of the classes, the instructors just suggested that I review what they had already done."
As Joey left for his room, Craig said, "Smart kid. That really frosts me that people are paid to teach students and then sit on their duff and don't do anything. He can't give anyone an A because he didn't teach them anything to earn an A. By the same token he can't fail anyone because none are doing more or less than average work."
"We'll find a solution. We'll get most of those kids up to a level that he's going to wonder why his face is full of dust."
"Are you going to run for PTA president?" Craig asked.
"You know, that might not be a bad idea," Dale said, turning out the kitchen light as they left to go to their bedroom.
They used the bathroom and brushed their teeth, then washed their faces. Their love for each other turned physical even before they were in bed. It started by playing their version of stripping each other's clothing off and laving the exposed skin with their tongues and sensuously rubbing the other to full arousal.
There was a trail of clothing from the bathroom to the bed and it seemed they were trying to devour each other with kisses and a tongue duel. Dale lay back on the pillows, pulling Craig on top of him. This was one of Craig's favorite positions as it allowed him full frontal contact with his hairy lover. He loved the feeling of the silky hair rubbing his own bare chest. Soon they were both leaking precum, making their groins slick and they ground their cocks against the other.
Soon Dale was attacking Craig's ears, putting his mouth completely around one and inserting his tongue while brushing the other with his fingers. Then he traded ears. Craig loved it. He thought (at the moment, anyway) that his ears had to be his most sensitive erogenous zone. Then Dale's tongue moved to his throat with fingers in both ears. He tried to do the same to Dale, but even though he was on the bottom, Dale was in the drivers seat tonight.
He managed to roll them over so he was on top, and then started massaging Craig's nipples and pecs. Back to kissing him on the mouth. He loved this guy and wanted to be inside him, to make them as one, to feel Craig grip his cock with his sphincter muscle. He wanted to paint the inside of Craig's bowels with slick, white-hot cum.
Their foreplay was long and was making each hornier by the minute. Finally, Dale slipped down and capped Craig's cock with his mouth, swallowing him to the balls in one thrust. Craig almost lost it and could feel a big dollop of precum make its way out of his slit. Dale, of course, was trying for this reward. Craig tasted so clean and he relished the fact he could make his lover give up this ambrosia that was only for him.
He worked on around to his balls, laving them, then to his perineum, shoving his tongue in the crack and at the hole that seemed to open like magic. This boy was going to be ready for the main event very quickly. Dale worked a pillow under Craig's lower back, and then went back to work on his rosebud. Between the precum they were both producing and some saliva, Dale quickly worked first one, then two and three fingers into the tunnel. Craig was thrashing around on the bed, starting to make his "Craig noises" that Dale loved to hear.
"Fuck me!" he heard Craig whimper.
"What do you want?" Dale teased.
"Fuck me. Fuck me now!" was Craig's insistent chant. "Put your cock in me!!"
Dale was only too happy to oblige his lover. Putting his legs on his shoulders, he moved into position, shucking back his foreskin and using lube they had both produced to make himself slick, then adding saliva, he was ready. This was better than KY or some of the other lubes because it was natural and lasted longer.
Dale pushed his cock snout against Craig's sphincter and gently started to ease it in, but that wasn't what Craig wanted. He bucked up against Dale and in two thrusts he was buried to the balls in his lover's hot hole. His greedy mouth found Dale's and they started kissing as each thrust against the other.
To each of them, sex just kept getting better and better. Craig was working his sphincter muscle as if he were trying to milk the cum out of Dale and since it was getting slicker; he must be producing more precum, something that usually stopped when he got really hard.
They brought each other to the brink three times, slowing down to prolong the exquisite feeling, but the fourth time they sensed this was it and brought each other to a roaring climax that seemed to be accompanied by thunder and lightning. The only storm was in their groins.
It took quite a while for them to return to a normal breathing pattern and finally as Craig tried to give Dale one last thrust, his cock had softened to the point it was expelled.
The next thing either of them knew, it was morning, although they had moved apart and were facing each other when Dale woke up.
Joey thought about the day. He knew he could count on his two Dads to help him with his school problems. Both men were resourceful and would find a way to quietly solve the problem without it becoming an issue. Kent Korte and Coach Paul Dennison were jerks, both dangerous to themselves without realizing it.
He was thankful for his new friends at school. Williamsport was going to be a good place to live and he knew it would soon seem like he had always lived here. He liked Hal, Daniel, Bret, Barry and even Bryce, although Joey thought he was a little too cocky for his own good. He had a good feeling that these were guys he could count on for their support of each other.
And, he was excited about the Halloween party at Tom and Eddie's house. This would be his first "adult" party.
Joey was horny tonight, too. He couldn't think of any particular thing that had made him that way, but his cock was demanding attention as he wondered what Dale and Craig were doing. He'd like to know more about "making love" as opposed to "just fucking" or jerking himself off. Certainly the movies he'd seen it didn't seem like any of them, men and men or men and women were "making love".
He used his sock for a while, but decided that felt too rough. He was producing some precum, so used that along with some saliva to make himself slick. When he was ready to cum, he decided to let it spill out on his chest and abdomen. He'd had better feeling masturbation sessions before, but this one made him feel relaxed. He licked his fingers clean, then used his sock to wipe up the cum on his chest and front. He cleaned his cock with the other sock.
The next thing Joey heard was the ring of the alarm on Tuesday morning.
(to be continued)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the great response to Chapter 43 and Joey's first day at a new school. Many of you wrote of your own experiences in high school and thought you had the same teachers as I described. I enjoy hearing from each of you and have tried to answer all emails, but know I've missed some in the process. I would appreciate your comments and you can email me at TulsaDriller7@aol.com. If you want to be added to the notification list, write me there, too.
Again, special thanks to Paul Daventon for his help in catching the obvious errors.